FirstEnergy's Green Team in western Pennsylvania recently teamed with the Allegheny Land Trust (ALT) to plant nearly 100 native trees at the Venango Trail Conservation Area in Cranberry Township, establishing a natural barrier that reduces traffic noise and enhances the visual appeal of the area.

"The sycamores we are planting along this fence line are fast growers and will provide a nice buffer between the bordering Pennsylvania Turnpike and the trail," said Dani Kramer, an ALT field coordinator. "The trees will grow huge and provide a living screen to shield the natural area from the highway and dampen the din of relentless traffic."

A video of the Green Team planting trees can be viewed on the company's YouTube channel.

The ALT has only 12 employees, and it depends on outside hands to help enhance the 3,700 acres of protected green space it owns.

"We can't do it on our own," Kramer said. "We are reliant on volunteers and stewards from the neighborhoods that border our properties, and we appreciate the work of FirstEnergy's volunteers!"

The Green Team helped Kramer plant dozens of sycamore, red bud and spice bush saplings, helping FirstEnergy inch closer to its milestone of 100,000 trees planted by volunteers across a six-state footprint since the effort began in 2020. This team of employees dedicates their time to various environmental initiatives, including park cleanups, tree-planting events and creating pollinator gardens.

This year, company volunteers are expected to plant more than 30,000 trees across FirstEnergy's entire service area, with about a third of those trees in Pennsylvania.

Trees play a vital role in stabilizing the environment by absorbing carbon, soaking up stormwater that can cause erosion and preserving streams and riverbanks, while simultaneously beautifying the landscape. They also provide food and cover wildlife needs to thrive.

"When migratory birds find their way to this nice big clearing in the forest, there will be food here for them to eat," said Jakob Radovic, a FirstEnergy Forestry Technician whose day job is to control vegetation along power lines to help prevent tree-related power outages.

The native spice bush saplings that Radovic's planted are adept at spreading through the understory and crowding out non-native plants such as invasive honeysuckle and barberry that overrun forest edges to create impenetrable thickets.

Like Radovic, Yasemin Wilcox-Kanell, an Operations Technician for FirstEnergy Transmission, enjoys volunteering within the community where she lives and works.

"Giving back to the community is always a rewarding thing, and it is good for nature to have trees," she said. "It's a win-win situation!"

Learn more about FirstEnergy's environmental and corporate responsibility efforts to build a brighter and more sustainable future at .